STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford men's water polo returns to Los Angeles to compete in the Mountain Pacific Invitational this Friday through Sunday (Sept. 22-24), held at both the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the USC campus and the Burns Recreation Center on the Loyola Marymount campus.
The Cardinal is one of 16 of the top-20 men's water polo programs in the nation, according to the Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association poll, in the Mountain Pacific Invitational field. The participants include No. 1 California, No. 2 USC, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Pacific, No. 6 Long Beach State, No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 9 UC Davis, No. 10 UC Irvine, No. 12 Princeton, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 20 Loyola Marymount, San Jose State and Air Force.
Stanford will open play Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT against Pomona-Pitzer on the USC campus. The winner will face the winner of Friday's match between Princeton and Long Beach State on Saturday. Semifinal rounds will be held later Saturday afternoon. All teams will compete for placing on Sunday, culminating with the championship match at 2:30 p.m. PT at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
The Cardinal enters the weekend 4-1 on the year, with its lone defeat coming to No. 2 USC (8-6) in Los Angeles in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams two weeks ago. Freshman Ben Hallock and junior Blake Parrish lead the Cardinal offensively with 13 goals apiece. Sophomore Bennett Williams (12) and seniors Jackson Kimbell (11) and Cody Smith (10) round out Stanford's double-digit scorers on the year. Hallock, Kimbell, Smith and Williams have each scored at least one goal in all four matches.
Senior goalie Drew Holland has started all four matches in the cage, totaling 11 saves on the year.
Stanford placed fifth in last year's Mountain Pacific Invitational, held in Berkeley. The Cardinal defeated San Jose State, Pepperdine and Long Beach State, dropping a 9-8 decision to Pacific in last season's tournament.
Following this weekend's Mountain Pacific Invitational, Stanford will return to The Farm, where it will host San Jose State next Saturday (Sept. 30) in its first home contest of the season. The match has been set for 11 a.m. PT at Avery Aquatic Center.
